Suspended Kingston Fire Chief Christopher Rea must get old job back, with back pay, judge rules

KINGSTON >> Suspended former Kingston Fire Chief Christopher Rea must be reinstated to his previous position as an assistant chief and is eligible to receive back pay, a state Supreme Court justice has ruled.

The four-page ruling issued Friday by Justice Henry F. Zwack orders Rea’s reinstatement by the city of Kingston and immediate back pay retroactive to March 10, 2012, according to a copy of the ruling provided by Rea’s attorney, Ronald Dunn of Albany.

Zwack further ruled that the city must conduct a disciplinary hearing within 30 days of the decision, pursuant to Civil Service Law, and that the city may “proceed by a new action in the event they wish to pursue the issue of possible offsets to the retroactive payment,” meaning that if the two parties cannot agree on compensation, then the city can seek to reduce the amount of retroactive pay in a separate court proceeding.

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“The most important sentence is that Chris has to be reinstated and put on the payroll immediately with no deduction,” Dunn said by telephone on Saturday, speaking on behalf of his client.

“What makes it significant is the length of the suspension, which according to Civil Service Law should be 30 days,” Dunn said of the ruling. “The court agreed that past those 30 days was excessive.”

City Corporation Counsel Andrew Zweben said the city will appeal Zwack’s ruling.

“The city will definitely appeal and as a municipality, will automatically receive a stay,” Zweben said. “We believe this is appealable because it doesn’t conform with what I interpret was the Appellate Division’s decision. We are confident in the outcome of this matter.”

Rea was suspended without pay on Feb. 9, 2012, by Mayor Shayne Gallo after it was alleged that Rea had a “time in attendance” issue, just one month after Gallo appointed him as fire chief.

Rea was named chief by Gallo after Richard Salzmann retired as chief in January 2012 amid allegations by Gallo that he also had “time in attendance” issues. Salzmann ultimately pleaded guilty in Kingston City Court to four misdemeanor charges of filing a false instrument. He was sentenced to a one-year conditional discharge and had to make restitution in the amount of $16,618.

Shortly after Rea was suspended, allegations arose that he downloaded sexually explicit materials from the Internet while at work, and that he billed both the city and state for hours he worked teaching a state firefighter training course.

“The position of the city was that Chris waived his right to a hearing when he put in his papers for retirement,” Dunn said. “But a lot of people do that and pull those papers back, which is exactly what Chris did.”

Dunn said that the retroactive compensation owed to Rea would equal “one year and 10 months of his annual $90,000 salary.”

Rea originally filed an Article 78 lawsuit in state Supreme Court on Aug. 30, 2012, seeking back pay, reinstatement to the payroll and a dismissal of all disciplinary charges.

Zwack initially dismissed the suit on Nov. 17, 2012, saying Rea had not filed within four months of his suspension, as required by law.

However, the Appellate Division of state Supreme Court, Third Department, reversed Zwack’s decision and ruled in October that Rea had indeed filed legal papers in the salary dispute on time, and that he was entitled to back pay.

The state appellate court also dismissed two disciplinary charges made by the city — incompetence and dereliction of duty — because the charges were not filed by the city in a timely manner.

The Appellate Division decision put the matter back in Zwack’s court for a ruling.

A disciplinary hearing regarding Rea’s case before an outside labor law firm began on Dec. 9, but was postponed indefinitely.

The Ulster County District Attorney’s Office never found any criminal wrongdoing by Rea.